Offensive coordinator Charley Molnar said the coaches have a strategy to counteract any nerves the players may feel.

“We just get them to play fast and really concentrate on their assignment,” Molnar said. “When that happens they’re not thinking about the crowd or anything else, they’re just thinking about executing to the best of their ability.”

Kelly said the team would be ready for Saturday’s game.

“What we won’t be is not prepared,” he said. “… That’s the most important, at the end of the day, that my kids are prepared to play and that I put them in a good position.”

However, he refrained from making any sort of predictions.

“I won’t know until we start playing,” he said. “On paper, these guys are fine. But on paper is one thing. How does Dayne react when now it’s cover-zero and he has to react? I have to see him with the bullets flying.”

Overall, Kelly said Tuesday, the Irish need to focus on playing.

“At the end of the day, if you do that, if you play hard and give everything you have for four quarters, my experience has shown me that that’s going to be pretty good, and we’re going to have a lot of success,” he said.

“So that’s kind of how we’ve dealt with the burgeoning pressure of being at Notre Dame. We’re just going to go play.”